The River Thames Frost Fair: Through the Ice Ages

For modern day Londoners, it's hard to believe that a river as mighty as the Thames could ever be ground to a halt by freezing over. However, historic accounts and paintings teach us that at one time the Thames regularly froze over - producing ice that was thick enough to support not just the weight of people, but of an elephant!

The climate during this period was known as the 'little ice age' which meant much colder winters, but it was also the fact that the Thames was wider and shallower and therefore flowed more slowly that led to it icing over on a regular basis. The Old London Bridge also slowed the flow of the river as it was supported on many closely spaced piers, taking on the properties of a leaky dam.

This harsh, cold weather often deprived many London tradesman of their usual work; the ice was a disaster for river traders as the ports came to a standstill, and many commodities became scarce. The more enterprising of those hard-up workers realised that the freezing of the Thames attracted a great many visitors who came to witness the spectacle, which gave them the idea to set up booths and stalls selling coffee, beers and souvenirs, leading to the first official Frost Fair in 1608.

The fairs quickly grew in size and notoriety, with all manner of winter activities taking place such as ice skating, ice bowling and sledging, as well as playing host to other events that were popular at the time such as fox hunting and bear baiting.

The fairs would attract huge numbers of people, including those from outside the city, who would flock to public houses and hotels in London to join the winter fun. John Evelyn, a writer who cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of London during the 1600s, wrote one of the most colourful descriptions of the Thames Frost Fair. He wrote:

"Coaches plied from Westminster to the Temple, and from several other stairs too and fro, as in the streets, sleds, sliding with skates, bull-baiting, horse and coach races, puppet plays and interludes, cooks, tippling and other lewd places, so that it seemed to be a bacchanalian triumph, or carnival on the water."

The Frost Fairs were often short lived and became shorter and shorter as the climate grew milder; the demolishing of the old London Bridge also increased the flow of the Thames and further reduced the likelihood of a freeze over.

On the 1st of February 1814, the final ever frost fair began. It was to last just 4 days, during which an elephant was led across the river below Blackfriars Bridge - the last time such a spectacle was ever seen on the Thames.

It's now been almost 200 years since the Thames has froze over, but in 2002 the city of London decided to celebrate the history of the Thames Frost Fairs by setting up the Bankside Frost Fair. It may not offer much in the way of Thames ice, but it's still the coolest and largest free winter event in London, so why not visit the capital this winter and remember the days when Londoners took to the ice.

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